Xda Mini S/K-Jam etc

How are owners finding this phone?
Any problems with the slider mechanism yet (that strikes me as the weak
point)?
Are you getting good battery life?
Sync working ok (activesync 4 has some harsh press)

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› See More: Xda Mini S/K-Jam etc

On 17 Jan 2006 13:00:30 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

> How are owners finding this phone?

I had one....for two days. I took is as an upgrade on O2 (so it was
the XDA Mini S) but sent it back. Although the keyboard and WiFi are
nice features, I found that I really wasn't going to make any use out
of the WiFi (now on T-Mobile with 40MB of data per month - more than
enough for my email needs, so don't need WiFi) and the keyboard was no
faster (for me) at text entry than I am with the stylus.

I too have my doubts about the sliding mechanism (especially over an
eighteen month contract.....) but others are reporting problems with
the stylus (or with the silo) and saying that the stylus is now loose
and falls out....not too much of a problem on most devices, but as the
stylus comes out of the bottom of the Mini S, it's far more likely to
drop out while the phone is in use and be lost.

Weighing up those things, and the fact that it is 6mm fatter than the
MDA Compact I was replacing, I returned it and opted for the MDA
Compact II on T-Mobile instead. Essentially the same phone but no
WiFi, no keyboard, slimmer design and takes full size SD cards.

As far as syncing goes....Activesync 4.0 on the CD is broken as
admitted by MS. 4.1 is available for download but I couldn't get
either of the WM5 devices to sync unless I de-activated my firewall
(Zone Alarm). There are solutions for the full version of Zone Alarm
but I couldn't find any help for the free version.

Oh - AS4.x also loses WiFi syncing, the ability to make a backup of
the handheld, and the ability to sync only certain categories in your
Outlook contacts.

Hope this lot helps - I seriously think I would have been better off
keeping my old WM2003SE MDA Compact, but it was a year old......

--
Bryan Anderson <[email protected]>

And for a different view...

I have had the MDA Vario (XDA Mini) for over a month now and cannot fault it
at all.

Funny eh?

Regards
Simon

On Tuesday, "Simon G" wrote:

> I have had the MDA Vario (XDA Mini) for over a month now and
> cannot fault it at all.

Don't get me wrong....I wasn't saying that it's a bad phone at all. My
feelings towards it were mostly disapointment:

I am used to next generation devices being faster and more powerful
than those they replace, and the current crop of WM5 devices aren't as
far as I have found.

I really wanted the keyboard to be useable one handed but
realistically it was never going to be - my only real problem with my
MDA Compact(s) have been the inability to write a text one handed.

I really wanted to be able to find a use for WiFi but couldn't.

I really wanted to like the phone but the thickness (and the actual
design which is a little uninspired) turned me off.

I had no real problems with the slider or the stylus. I though that
the keyboard *may* have trouble lasting an 18 month contract and I've
read other's problems with the stylus, not my own.

Overall - I think I was just disapointed. If I had come to it from a
"standard" phone, or from one of the larger XDA units then my thoughts
may well have been much more positive.

--
Bryan Anderson <[email protected]>

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 22:57:14 -0000, "Simon G"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>And for a different view...
>
>I have had the MDA Vario (XDA Mini) for over a month now and cannot fault it
>at all.
>
>Funny eh?
>
>Regards
>Simon
>

Ditto for me - I love it.

The wi-fi and keyboard plus smaller form factors were the sellers for
me.

I had an original XDA and swore I would not touch the PDA/Phone combo
again.

I'm glad the shrunk MDA Vario came out with so many user friendly
features.

Initial issues with syncing were a dissapointment because there had
been no issue wit the XDA.

I'm after one, that works on 02 and has wifi
Where is best?

--
....You will all feel the wrath of donkey...
Hall of Fame Class of 2005
"Even old people like this donkey"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How are owners finding this phone?
> Any problems with the slider mechanism yet (that strikes me as the weak
> point)?
> Are you getting good battery life?
> Sync working ok (activesync 4 has some harsh press)
>

I have to say I also got one and sent it back within a week.

It very much depends on what you want it to do. There was nothing wrong with
the device as such, but coming from a smartphone the lack on one handed
operation was a pain.

The keyboard and WiFi were great, but I just found it too much of a let down
on the phone aspects. Ultimately I wasn't using the WiFi that much,
particularly outside of home. I feel the SP5 would be better for me as I
could carry it for a week without being annoyed at how bulky it was, and if
I happened upon a WiFi hotspot I had the ability to use it if needed.

Rob

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> How are owners finding this phone?
> Any problems with the slider mechanism yet (that strikes me as the weak
> point)?
> Are you getting good battery life?
> Sync working ok (activesync 4 has some harsh press)
>